StutleyConstable

I have recently been reminded that people do not answer questions anymore. The last time I was made aware of this was when I was building my power hammer. I had one simple question regarding the spring needed for the linkage and it took me TWO YEARS of people telling me stories about how they built their power hammers and various other adventures before I finally backed someone into a corner and got a straight answer. This time, I asked for recommendations on novels I could read in order to do some style research for a story I am working on. I figured a group with an interest in a particular subject would be able to make such recommendations. I mean, I was asking for the TITLES of books I could go out and read. A very simple request. What do I get instead? "You need to outline your story before you start." "You should write the story from the POV of X." "You need to build slowly to the climax." "You need to have a bunch of clues." There were more suggestions but only three of the

I don't work much in digital art these days. I look at a bunch of it, though. Seems nearly impossible to scroll through a search on any art website without seeing digital work, even when I specify 'sculpture'. Not sure how 3D models fit in the sculpture category, but that's a different matter. Anyway, AI artwork is ridiculously common. I still don't know how I feel about it. There are a ton of opinions as to whether it is "the best thing ever" or "pure evil". Neither seems to be the case. This debate makes me wonder how artists felt when photography began, though. Back in the days before cameras were mass produced, painters painted, sculptors sculpted, and illustrators illustrated. I know there is more to it than that, but you see my meaning. Artists worked with their hands and minds to create works people could admire and enjoy. Along came photographs and suddenly, anyone with an eye for composition could turn out beautiful black and white prints. They could make as many of them as

I just made a note to myself on my bathroom mirror. It reads "Even if it's wrong, DO IT!" I put this up there because I realized the other day that I have been entirely too wound up in getting things right the first time. I've been too concerned with little, tiny details of process, wanting the final product to be perfect. The result is a crawling pace in completing anything. I get interrupted left and right, pulled away from my workbench and delayed on a daily basis and when I get back to work, I go over the details and waste even more time trying to determine if I got those details right before I allow myself to continue. This is not a tenable situation. With all the interruptions, I cannot concentrate and screwing around with insignificant details that nobody other than me will ever notice takes the enjoyment out of making things. This detail-oriented process also results in a lack of "happy accidents" that lend character to my pieces. It can stifle discovery, too. By working out